Author: graceceliahandmade

Wow…. It’s been almost 6 months since I last posted! I have a good reason… I promise.

I gave birth to the most gorgeous little baby! Here she is pulling on her mummy’s wires…

Now… some time has passed. Here I was thinking Babies? Pfft how much time do they take. I can write in a blog daily. Oh boy was I wrong! Being a single parent I barely have enough time to shower or eat, let alone write a blog and get creative.

She’s now a bit older and occasionally allows me the odd minuet or two. Which means I can crochet again! I actually designed my own pattern and made this…

How cute is this! It’s an elephant hoody! I’m going to share the pattern with everyone so you can turn your munchkins into little elephants too. I’m in the midst of writing it out so will be sharing it in the following post.. along with lots and lots of photos of my new little model.

This is the second thing I decided to crochet… Another newborn baby jumper. A very yellow newborn baby jumper… Possibly a little too yellow…

Turns out hoods are surprisingly easy to crochet. You just keep crocheting around the neck line until its long enough and then stitch it up at the top.

It’s 100% seamless… which is why I love crochet. With knitting you end up with so many seams, which can be rough on a newborn’s skin.You also have to finish all the separate pieces before you can sew it up and begin to see it’s shape. With crochet it is just a matter of re-attaching the wool to different parts of the jumper and it’s very quick to see the shape or size the finished project will be.

So… maybe I shouldn’t have used such a bright colour for a newborn…. and the crochet is still a little bit wonky…. but I like to think I’m getting better with every crochet project I do.

I have come to the conclusion, that I spend more time looking for patterns… than I actually do making the item! I get a set image in my mind and spend hours looking for a pattern that matches that image. Which…. is a very silly thing to do!

So what do you do?….. you make it up as you go along… obviously.

I started from the top, making a long chain, increasing at four individual points to make it form the jumper-like shape. I am sure there must be some word for that method, but I have no idea what it is. (Please tell me if you know).

I was originally going to have it as a cardigan, but half way through got bored and joined up the two ends…. turning into a jumper. After a few rows of nothing but half double crochet (hdc) I got bored yet again and decided to get creative.

I went online in search of a pretty stitch I could use to create a border and found a stitch that looked like a row of flowers. I now can’t find the tutorial I used… or even remember how I done the stitch. If I can rediscover the tutorial I will link it!….

Pretty little flower stitch!

I got a little bit carried away on the arms and ended up making the first one rather long…. so I just made the second one long as well and folded it over… which I think looks rather adorable anyway.

When I finished I thought the neck bit looked a little boring. The solution? A pretty little collar!… I’m a little obsessed with collars. I just done a couple rows of half double crochet around the neck line and finished it off with a wavy border.

The outcome.. a pretty flowery jumper for a 0-3 month old.

What did I learn?

Randomly making up a pattern as you go along… actually takes longer than looking for a pattern which doesn’t exist.

Next time, I should draw up a design and brief instructions before starting on the project. I should also write what I’m doing so I can replicate the same pattern again! I should….. but… knowing me I probably wont.

I had been having problems throughout my pregnancy with something called ‘Placenta Praevia’. It’s a condition where the placenta decides to be awkward and attaches itself to the bottom of the womb. I was 25 weeks pregnant and doctors were unsure whether or not I would make it to full term. Luckily, it was only partially blocking the cervix and moved out of the way as baby Grace grew. Now at 38 weeks… I’m dreading going over term! I have an appointment on the 16th March 2017 to be induced… but lets hope she comes before then!

Anyway…. back to topic. As I was under risk of having a tiny baby, I thought it would be a good idea to make a tiny baby dress.

I got the pattern for this dress here… but made my own alterations to decrease the size. It’s made with 4ply wool and a teeny tiny hook… making it rather time consuming. The outcome however is adorable! Although, as baby Grace is now estimated to weigh about 6.4lb… there is no way that this tiny dress is going to fit.

I also knitted a teeny tiny hat and a teeny tiny pair of gloves, which baby Grace will no longer fit into. I am sure however that they will not go to waste and there will be a tiny baby girl in the hospital’s NICU who these would look adorable on.

I must admit… there is something about making premi baby clothes… and these certainly wont be my last tiny projects.

It all began one cold rainy day, (which in England is most of them). I had just started my maternity and came to the conclusion that not working is actually very boring. Who would have known! As my sewing machine had decided to break, I needed a new hobby to occupy my time…. or a new sewing machine…. but a new hobby seemed like the cheaper option.

I already knew how to knit, but everything seemed to take so long. When you’re used to sewing, where you could make something in an afternoon, having to spend a couple days on the same project is boring! However.. amidst my knitting supplies, I found a crochet hook and thought I would give it a go.

After a lot of practice…. and a lot of unravelling… I managed to make this….

The first attempt!

Don’t laugh!

I know it’s not exactly a master piece and looks a little bit like a Father Christmas jacket… but for a first attempt, I think I done okay…. right?

The arms aren’t the same length… It’s smaller than it was supposed to be…. and it is a strange shape.

Comparing it to what I’m managing after two months practice, it’s ghastly. However, for someone who had never picked up a crochet hook until that night, I think it’s pretty awesome!

What does one do when they're bored and on maternity.... Learn to crochet! Of course!
It's amazing what you can do whilst waiting for a baby.
I've been crocheting since December 2016 and have now made a ridiculous amount of things! Which of course I want to share with all you lovely people.
They aren't perfect, as I've only been doing it for a small amount of time..... so please offer any advice or tips.